1. Field of the invention.
This invention relates to bed patient care and more particularly to a lifting device for moving a patient in a supine position and/or lowering him to a sitting position in a chair.
Bed patients who are not capable of moving themselves, even while in bed, pose a problem for nursing care personnel. This is particularly true when the bed patient, who mostly remains in a supine position and is of large frame and possibly obese.
This invention is intended for use with such patients in which the nurse may single-handedly lift and transfer a bed patient from one bed to another or to a chair and return them to the bed.
2. Description of the prior art.
It has been common practice to use a portable crane for lifting and moving a bed patient in hospital wards, or the like. One such crane is briefly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,701 which utilizes a fabric sling placed under a patient to lift a patient in a sitting position for transfer to a chair or the like.
This invention is distinctive over this and other patient handling devices by providing a mobile base mounted standard having opposing vertically pivoting spring biased arms which lifts a patient supporting sling for moving the patient either horizontally or in a sitting position.